Girls Will Be Girls
by Self-Aware-Anime-Protagonist
Summary: It's punk rock. It's sports rivalries. It's prom queens. It's high hopes and low blows. It's the person you've had a crush on since forever. It's newfound bravery and inevitable sadness wrapped in raging teen hormones. It's the bridge between who you are and who you're meant to be. It's realizing you weren't who you thought you were. It's high school.
1. Dirty Little Secret

**September 2009**

"Don't slouch so much. Your hair is in your eyes. Why do you wear so much black? No, we're not listening to this _again_."

A hand flicked the car radio to the next station before returning to the wheel. The car jerked as the stop sign appeared almost instantly.

A soft curse hissed out of the driver's mouth as she slammed her foot on the brake, and the girl sitting shotgun slumped forward with the momentum of the car.

"I guess we're here," the driver said in monotonous fashion. "Don't dick around too much, I gotta get to class, too ya know."

The girl in the passenger seat seat slinked out of the car, shutting the door behind her and slinging her backpack over her shoulder.

The college-aged driver rolled down the passenger seat window to begrudgingly deliver her sister one last set of wise words for the beginning school year: "At least... _try_ to be a little more social, okay? Find...find a boyfriend or something, okay? It's your senior year, and you're not gonna get a lot of time to just mess around without consequence. Just...branch out a little."

"What's wrong with Axel and Roxas?" The ex-passenger wondered, shifting her feet on the pavement.

The driver rolled her eyes behind her knockoff designer sunglasses. "A _real_ boyfriend, Xion. I know your friends are gayer than a box of crayons, no one can hide that from me."

Xion sighed, admitting defeat and just quietly agreeing to her sister's promise. "See ya later, Yuffie."

"I'll pick you up as soon as school lets out; don't be late." Yuffie instructed, interjecting a finger at her sister for effect.

A car behind the stop sign honked, blaring its driver's impatience throughout the schoolyard.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm moving!" Yuffie shouted upward, before rolling the window up and speeding off with a screech.

 _She's gonna hit someone if she's not careful_ , Xion thought dully. She turned to the school, the prison she had attended for the last three years.

But now...just one more year of torture.

The familiar, comforting voice called her name from the student parking lot. She turned, facing the one boy whose presence alone had gotten her through the worst parts of high school: Roxas, the aforementioned "gayer than a box of crayons" Roxas.

Their matching attire had been one of the deciding factors of their friendship that began in freshman year: mostly all black, punk band t-shirts, ripped skinny jeans, and the finishing touches of the emo/punk vibe. The day they met, Roxas had donned the infamous Panic! At the Disco shirt that had drawn Xion like a moth to a flame. The second deciding factor, of course, had been music taste. Though they knew they weren't the only fans of these pop punk bands, they found solace in shutting the world out and pretending only they shared similar sufferings.

Roxas nodded his head to the doors, his hands gripped tight to his ratty backpack. "Come on, we're gonna be late for class."

She followed him, her hands in the same position. "Have you heard from Axel lately? He texted me last night 'good luck, one year left'."

Roxas agreed, "He texted me the same thing last night."

A sly grin slipped across Xion's features, and she asked teasingly. "Does your heart still pine for that 'redheaded daydream', as you used to call him sophomore year?"

The blond boy flushed the same red of Axel's hair (which, is to say, flame-red). "No!"

In obvious disbelief, Xion shook her head.

"Sure…"

"He's never gonna see me as anything more than just a friend," Roxas muttered, "besides, he and Saïx have been together for more than half a year now."

With a dramatic sigh, Roxas added, "It's such a tragedy that the only gay boys to ever walk this high school are best friends, and nothing more."

Xion knitted her brows, recounting his previous statement. "The _only_ gay boys? What about Riku and Sora?"

Roxas made a sound like a sputtering stream of water. "Are Sora and Riku _really_ gay? They're just dumb jocks who like to slap each others' asses for fun. Honestly, the day they get together is the day that I throw in the towel with Axel."

As if the stars had aligned and the heard Roxas's vow, the sound of a locker slamming shut with a squeak and a chorus of gasps rang out in the bustling hallway. The bustle had come to a halt as everyone stopped mid-step to witness the spectacle before their eyes: said jocks, Riku and Sora, pressed lip-to-lip, with Sora's back to Riku's locker. They remained in this position, tongue-to-tongue, until a faculty member pried them apart.

A bubble of shocked laughter rose from Xion's throat. "Wh-what the fuck?"

"God _dammit!_ " Roxas screamed, stamping his foot on the linoleum floor.

"Looks like you've got a promise to keep, Rox!" Xion shoved Roxas lightly, enough to instill him with her point.

Roxas muttered something under his breath - something along the lines of "Stupid gay ass jocks" - before skulking to his locker and barely glancing at the numbers

"You wanna know what Yuffie said to me this morning?" Xion mentioned, switching the subject just as the bustle started back up as if nothing had happened (if not a little slower as to process what the hell had just rocked the student body).

Roxas didn't meet eyes with Xion, but asked for her elaboration.

"She said she wanted me to find a _real_ boyfriend, because apparently a gay friend isn't enough of a man to be around." Xion mustered a laugh, but inside the words stung. Since the day she started to _notice_ boys, not one that she had seen returned her gaze.

 _Except..._

Roxas rolled his eyes, slamming his locker shut.

"Yeah, the day I find another boy to like me is the day I die." Xion vowed.

In that moment, the stars seemed to align again. Her world slowed to molasses as someone approached Roxas, someone she had never seen before: blonde hair, crisp preppy clothes, and a wrinkled schedule held in nervously-fidgeting hands.

"Roxas, can you help me with my schedule? I don't know where anything is," the stranger admitted with a slight laugh.

Roxas spread the schedule out for a better analysis, agreeing to help the stranger.

"Sure, Naminé."

Xion found herself speechless, not a single word able to form on her lips. This suffocating paralysis felt all so familiar, and yet unlike any feeling she had experienced before. Her impulses begged for Xion to find any way to spend longer than a second with this stranger as Roxas pointed her in the right direction.

"Okay, thanks Roxas." The girl shot a warming smile at them, like the light of an angel's halo.

"Who's this?" Somehow, Xion's voice sounded too gruff and almost brash. Dammit, already being an embarrassment.

Roxas seemed to remember Xion's existence, and turned to introduce the girl. "Xion, this is my cousin Naminé. Naminé, this is my best friend Xion."

Naminé offered her warm smile again, and Xion's knees felt weak. "It's nice to meet you, Xion."

Xion could only mumble (she had never been very good at meeting new people). "Yeah…"

"Well, I'll see you around." Naminé turned, her blonde hair swishing behind her.

The encounter had all felt like a dream, as Xion's mind struggled to piece together the vision of an angel on Earth.

Roxas faced his stricken friend, and the same sly smile she had thrown him appeared. "Looks like someone's got a crush…"

Xion crashed back into reality. "A crush? On a girl? Me? No, I'm not...I'm not a lesbian."

"Your ears are turning pink." Roxas pointed to the culprits, and Xion covered them with her hair.

The bell sounded its warning: one minute until class began. The bustle of the hallway moved like a VHS on fast-forward.

"Dammit, I don't have time to go to my locker," Xion muttered. Thanks to that girl…

"Luckily we have the same homeroom, so we'll be late buddies together," Roxas offered to alleviate her stress. "Come on, we don't want Ms. Danowitz mad at us. Does she still hit kids with rulers, or did they finally catch up with that?"

* * *

It was a quintessential part of student life at Hartford High School, a rivalry to outmatch even the Civil War: the centuries-long feud between the cheer squad and the pom team.

Long before the current head cheerleader and the pom captain had stepped into power, this feud had existed for reasons people only knew in rumors:

"You don't know? The head cheerleader was caught with the pom captain's boyfriend."

"The pom team put laxatives in the cheer squads' water bottles. I think they shit themselves on the field."

"The cheer squad set the pom team up! They were caught with cigarettes the cheer squad bought!"

Though these rumors flew past like clouds, no one knew the true origins of the feud, but only knew that both teams treated each other horribly throughout the school year. Although neither team had been pushed to the point of physical violence, somehow that possibility always felt imminent.

And let's face it: Hartford High hadn't seen a good girlfight in several years.

But Kairi wasn't about to let this feud soil the cheer squad's reputation further, not with her senior year at stake. Such a bright future shone before Kairi: winning homecoming queen, winning snow princess at the Snowbound Dance, winning prom queen, and eventually restoring old glory to the cheer squad.

There was just...one obstacle. One she met in the empty locker rooms at every available moment. And her name was Olette, the pom captain.

How many times had they nearly been caught, not even acting the way they wished they could, but interacting at all? Kairi's desperation grew with every passing practice, but the eyes were everywhere.

In these rare moments, everything was rushed: every stolen kiss, every forbidden touch.

"We can't," Kairi always said, pushing the hope away. "They might see us."

And every time, Olette complied. Her soft hands fell away, her lips retreated.

But this time, Olette asked. She never asked. "Are we ever gonna be open about this? It's been, what, almost a year?"

Kairi bit her lip, shaking her head. Her gaze broke from Olette's, dropping to the floor in defeat. "I don't think so. Even with this dumb cheerleader vs. pom girl thing, we just...can't."

And...Olette complied. Hands away, lips back. "They're waiting for me. Act like I beat the shit out of you, okay?"

Kairi met Olette with a devil's grin. "Sure, but make it look like _I_ put up a fight too, got it?"

Olette cocked her head, glancing over her shoulder coyly. "No promises, you cheer squad slut."

Kairi couldn't help watching her sway with a teasing walk as she left the locker room, leaving Kairi in her desperate solitude for just a second more.


	2. That's What You Get

Following the events that had occurred before the homeroom bell had even sounded, the student body was ablaze with the gossip about the two boys kissing in the hallway:

"Are they gay now?"

"They're so cute together omg!"

"There'd better not be any fags on _my_ football team."

"Band kids are all freaks anyway, it only makes sense Sora's a homo."

Amidst all this, Xion's daze over her encounter with Naminé hadn't faded. She had questions, so many questions, for herself and for her traitorous friend Roxas who hadn't dared to mention this girl before.

The utter shock and disbelief in her voice didn't register for him until Xion had to repeat herself over a school-issued bowl of - _something_ stir-fried. "You didn't tell me about your cousin."

Roxas's blank stare and accompanying shrug provided his answer. "What was I supposed to say about her? She only transferred here this year. And she's my cousin, I didn't think you'd ever meet her."

Xion popped a half-frozen piece of broccoli into her mouth. "Well, why'd she transfer? Where did she go before?"

Roxas prodded his milk carton in the opposite direction. "Why don't you ask her yourself?"

The girl from earlier that morning stood before them, the hems of her skirt almost brushing Xion's hair. The broccoli seemed to find the wrong pipe and lodge itself just over the entrance, forcing Xion into a near choking fit.

"Oh my God, are you okay?" Naminé blurted, dropping to her knees to meet Xion sitting in the grass. "I know the heimlich maneuver! CPR?"

Xion waved her hand, dismissing Naminé's offered assistance. The broccoli found its way down the correct path in a painful swallow, helped down by a sip of water.

"I'm fine," Xion said curtly, her voice hoarse. "I'm good, thanks…"

Roxas swirled the milk in his carton. "Xion just wanted to ask where you went to school before here."

Naminé perked, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I went to Brightview Private Academy ever since I was in kindergarten, but the curriculum became too much after my junior year, and I couldn't keep up. My mom thought it'd be best to just...finish up at a public school."

"So you're here, in this hellhole," Xion cynically muttered, taking another sip of water to clear her throat.

Naminé threw her counterpart a knowing, sarcastic smile. "You think _this_ place is a hellhole, huh? That's cute."

 _Cute._

Xion found her ears tingling with their tattletale redness again, and she hid them behind her streaked pageboy haircut. She could only mumble an affirmation.

Roxas gulped down the rest of his milk and made a sound to turn the girls' attention. "Here come the she-wolves."

Lifting her head, they watched the procession of the cheer squad across the courtyard. Led by Kairi, her red ponytail bobbing as she strode past, they settled at their usual table, like expectant royals waiting to be served hand and foot.

"Preps," Roxas muttered, running his fingers through his hair. "Think they're still in that ridiculous feud with the pom team?"

Naminé had to wonder, as the obvious outsider to the school's traditions. "Feud?"

"Shall I quote 'Romeo and Juliet'? 'Two sports teams, alike in sluttiness, in fair Hartford where we lay our scene'..." Roxas mused.

"Fucking speak English, Rox," Xion teased. She turned her head to Naminé, relaying the foggy history of the feud.

Moments after the cheer squad had taken their seats, the pom team arrived shortly after, trading malice-filled glances with the cheer squad before silently returning to their seats. Olette made fiery eye-contact with Kairi, the passion of their ancestors' feud sizzling between them. Then, like a cloudburst passing, they cooled, and joined their teams at opposing lunch tables.

"What do you make of that, Roxas?" Xion asked, summoning his analytical skills.

Roxas bit his lip. "I think that was something they call, 'sexual tension'."

"I thought they hated each other?" Naminé recalled. "But you're right, that was totally the gaze of forbidden love."

"I don't understand how you could tell that from a single glance," Xion decided, setting aside her unfinished lunch.

Naminé noticed her gesture, and addressed it, "You're not going to eat?"

Taken aback slightly, Xion replied, "Why would I? The food here is awful, and I'm not that hungry anyway."

Naminé reached into a canvas tote bag behind her, presenting a brown paper bag. "Here, if you don't want your lunch, you can have some of mine."

She immediately refused, but Naminé's persistence convinced her. Besides, Xion _did_ prefer peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to school cafeteria food.

"The jelly...it's really good." Xion noted, the peanut butter an adhesive in her mouth.

"Thanks, my mom made it," Naminé answered, chewing her half of the sandwich.

"She _made_ it?" Xion repeated, still working the peanut butter off the roof of her mouth.

"Yeah, we used to live on a farm. We had a ton of strawberry bushes, and my mom liked to make jelly and preserves in the fall. She just uses store-bought ones now." Naminé explained.

"Aunt Celes is such a hippie," Roxas muttered fondly, "you're a hippie too sometimes."

Naminé tucked her hair behind her ear again, and retorted teasingly, "Just because I'm not a goth emo kid like you doesn't make me a hippie."

Roxas wagged a finger at Naminé accusingly. "No, but it _does_ make you a prep."

Naminé scoffed. "So I like Taylor Swift, fight me."

Xion's heart pounded, as if Roxas were accusing her for liking prep music. If he accused her, would she deny the truth, would she deny that she sought Taylor Swift music because sometimes Fall Out Boy and Panic! At the Disco weren't the right ambience for teenage mood swings.

Especially when the mood was heartbreak. And Xion knew a lot about that.

"Hm, I changed my mind Naminé," Roxas decided, "you can't sit with us until you've listened to some real music."

Adrenaline coursed through Xion's veins again, as if Roxas had asked her to leave.

Her response escaped her like a frightened creature from a cage. "She can stay if she wants to!"

Her outburst had caught Roxas and Naminé's attention, as well as the attention as some others in the courtyard. They quickly brushed off the random shout and continued their mindless routes.

Xion's face flushed, and she found herself tripping over her speech. "I mean...Taylor Swift's music isn't _all_ bad…"

Roxas gasped dramatically, as if his world had become a soap opera and this season's cliffhanger had dropped. He clasped his chest, wide-eyed. "What did you just say?"

She clenched her fist, adrenaline pumping again. She rose to her feet, towering over Roxas. "You heard me, Rox."

To her surprise, he backed down like a wounded dog. He raised his hand in defeat. "Okay, you have a point. Come on, we should get to class. We'll see you later, Nami."

Roxas stood, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. They bid their part-time goodbyes to Nami, and as soon as they were far from her earshot, Roxas whispered, "Smooth moves back there."

Xion jumped back, dumbfounded. "Wh-what are you talking about?"

Roxas glanced over his shoulder, just checking that Naminé wasn't following behind. "You didn't think I believed you, right? I know you don't listen to Taylor Swift, but you wanted to show off for Naminé."

Xion hid her face from her best friend, and she hoped her ears weren't tattletales.

* * *

The slam of a door and the sound of two shoes hitting the wall and bouncing onto the floor alerted the Kisaragi household that the resident high school senior had returned home.

"How was your first day?" Yuffie called out, her disinterested tone warranting a disinterested reply.

"Fine."

She trudged past her sister sitting on the living room couch, watching reruns of something Xion wouldn't be caught dead watching.

Yuffie tilted her head back as she sensed her sister pass, still not turning her head to address her. "Larxene's coming over in a few minutes, we're gonna watch 'The Vampire Diaries'."

"Why?" Xion could only respond with disinterested curiosity.

Yuffie rolled her eyes as if the question had been ridiculously brainless. "Because there's a new episode, duh. And I haven't seen her since we graduated?"

"Yeah sure, fine, whatever."

The door to her room closed behind her, the lights off. Her backpack landed on the floor with a thud. Her body landed on her bed with the same noise.

Thoughts of the blonde angel still lingered like a daydream.

She put her earbuds in, clicking through her music. It seems this was one of the times that Taylor Swift would suffice just nicely.

* * *

Kairi huffed, throwing herself onto the bench in melodramatic fashion. Couldn't any of these girls clap in sync? She buried her head in her hand and took a sip from her water bottle.

She glanced across the field at the pom girls, whose music blared from the other side. Lady Gaga, "Poker Face". Not bad, Olette, not bad. A few months dated popularity-wise, but what could she expect from an old-fashioned pom girl?

Olette caught her gaze in an over-the-shoulder glance, and Kairi turned her head with disgust.

"Can't we take a break?" Selphie groaned, watching Kairi pass by the line of exhausted cheer girls.

"Not yet," Kairi said, "the pom girls see us slacking and they _know_ our routine is gonna suck ass if we don't step it up. Alright, from the top!"

Crashing onto her bed, she let her frustration out as a growl. The girl standing, arms crossed, chuckled.

"Having trouble getting the girls to cooperate?" Olette teased, sidling up to Kairi on the bed.

Kairi slid over, making room for Olette. "It's like they never learned how to clap in sync! It's so fucking frustrating, I can't do it anymore…" She clapped her hands over her face, sighing into them. "I should've joined the pom team."  
Olette giggled, turning on her side so her face hovered just above Kairi's. "Careful, you don't know who could hear you."

Kairi reached for Olette's shoulders, pulling her in for a kiss. _No one will hear. You're mine here, we're safe here._

The taste of Olette's lips were so familiar, her body so warm. It was hard to believe that one kiss had changed Kairi's life.

Fingers tangled into Olette's brown curls, Kairi gripped onto the one thing that felt real. Olette cupped Kairi's cheeks, her soft hands caressing her skin. Warm hands slid lower, forcing Kairi's body to shiver.

"Going anywhere after this?" Kairi murmured, suggestion rolling off the tip of her tongue.

Olette volleyed the suggestion right back. "Not really. You want me to stay here?"

Kairi twirled Olette's hair around her finger, watching it spring back up from the tension. "Yeah."

Olette's kiss slipped into a smile, her words on Kairi's lips. "Okay."

* * *

Vanitas. The name summoned unmentionable hell for Xion. His presence alone could send her into a volley of tears and shallow breathing.

It had been about a year and a half since Hurricane Vanitas, she should be over the damage. And yet...

The memory of the last time she had seen Vanitas in public resurfaced, rising from the depths of her mind like a nightmare.

They had been at the ice cream shop on main street, a little place called Moogle's. It was the only place where they sold homemade sea salt ice cream, the favorite of Xion's gang.

She had been relaxing on the bench outside the door, watching cars go by with Roxas. Axel leaned against the building, his cone dripping blue down his slender fingers as he licked idly.

A figure and her friends passed by, Xion didn't know if she had even seen him there, probably not, but as Vanitas's group passed them, Xion felt as if she had been sucker punched in the stomach. She dropped her cone, tears flooding to her eyes, and her breathing became erratic.

Axel's voice seemed so distant, though he had knelt down to her. "Xion! What's wrong, what's up?"

His head turned, catching the last glimpse of Vanitas before he and his friends turned the corner.

"Oh…" Axel murmured, throwing an arm around Xion.

She couldn't find her words, only manage to say something like, Vanitas...shouldn't feel like this...I don't know why…

"It's okay, he's gone now," Roxas added, glancing behind him for confirmation. "He's not gonna hurt you anymore."

The recovery from her panic was short, but she couldn't enjoy the rest of the day without knowing Vanitas was downtown.

Still, Xion racked her brain for an answer why she had broken down. Vanitas...hadn't done anything to her, nothing bad. It could've been worse, so much worse.

Vanitas hadn't even laid a hand on her; it was the pain of not knowing why they had broken up that sent Xion into bouts of depression.

That, and the fact that no one had known about the two of them besides Axel and Roxas.

How foolish she had been, falling for someone she believed to be so mature, but had torn her down at every given opportunity.

Xion peeked through her bedroom door, eyes catching Larxene's pixie cut, tracing down the longer strands of slicked-back hair which resembled bug antennae.

Roxas only lived a few blocks away, but the sun had vanished, and she couldn't drive. Besides, there was no option for a clean escape, an escape void of Yuffie and Larxene noticing where she was going. And Yuffie would definitely snitch if Xion came back after curfew.

Trapped.

She flipped open her phone, shooting a quick text to Roxas: **Thinking about Vanitas**

His answer arrived in seconds: **What? Why**

 **XION: idk**

 **ROXAS: I'm sorry :'( do u wanna call me**

 **XION: They'll probs hear me on the phone**

 **ROXAS: R u still that scared of ppl knowing**

 **XION: Yeah I hate that I am I shouldn't be so afraid of him it's not like he raped me or anything**

 **ROXAS: No but he was horrible to u**

 **XION: I deserved it probably**

 **ROXAS: No don't think that u didn't deserve that**

Tears fell onto her phone screen. It's been too long, why did Vanitas still haunt her?

 **XION: Maybe I can come over after Vampire Diaries**

 **ROXAS: Ok just lmk**

 **XION: OK ttyl Roxas**

 **ROXAS: C U 2moro**

Xion popped her earbuds back in. Before she hit play, she reopened her conversation with Roxas.

 **XION: Hey...what's Namine's number**

 **ROXAS: ;^) ooh y do u ask**

 **XION: / no reason also why do u put noses in ur smiley faces**

 **ROXAS: ;^P bcuz and it's**

A couple quick clicks later and Naminé's phone number had been added to Xion's contact list.

 **XION: Thx ttyl :)**

 **ROXAS: No probs ;^P don't get too dirty**

 **XION: Wtf Roxas /**

She rolled her eyes behind her screen. Heart pounding, she opened up a new message to Naminé.

 **XION: Hi this is Xion :) is this Namine**

Her answer didn't arrive nearly as quickly as Roxas's had. Xion swore Roxas had lightning-fast typing skills.

 **NAMINE: Hi Xion :D yep**

 **XION: What's up**

 **NAMINE: Nothin much u?**

 **XION: Same**

She wished she didn't have to lie. Maybe someday she'd tell, or Naminé could be added to the throng of people who didn't know about Vanitas.

 **XION: Btw I rlly like Taylor Swift too don't tell Rox /**

 **NAMINE: Haha I won't ;)**

Here, in the solitude of her room, the room that contained so many unseen tears and unfelt pains, no one could see Xion's flushed face.


	3. The Anthem

The weekend couldn't have come at a better time. In just the span of five days, four separate worksheets for four separate classes were due by the following Monday.

The stroke of luck came when Axel found the time to take her and Roxas to McDonald's on Saturday, then hang around town until the sun went down.

Axel sipped his coke pensively, swallowed, and held his hands up. "So...let's get this straight: you're not."

Xion slammed her hand on the table indignantly, rattling the napkin dispenser. "I am! Or, I thought...I don't know…I'm not...I'm not gay though, I've always liked boys."

"Unfortunately," Roxas muttered, subtly referencing Vanitas.

Axel hummed, glancing over her. "You could be bisexual."

The word was a stranger to her. "I'm what?"

"Y'know, you like both." Roxas finished.

Something stirred in the pit of her stomach; could someone really like both?

"How...do I even _know_ that I like both?" Xion shook her head, the ordeal baffling her. She buried her face in her hands. Why couldn't crushes just be easy?

"Easy: kiss her." Roxas noted, taking a sip.

Xion lifted her head. "Kiss who?"

"Naminé, duh," Axel finished.

"H-how do you even know about Naminé?" Xion shrieked, her face redder than Axel's hair.

Axel jabbed a thumb toward Roxas. "This little rat tells me everything."

Roxas clicked his tongue. "Guilty."

Xion gritted her teeth, grabbing Roxas's shoulders. "Why you-!"

Roxas swatted her hands away, swaying on his stool. "Watch it, I'm gonna fall! And why wouldn't I tell him? He's your best friend, too."

Xion recoiled reluctantly. "You're not _mad_ that I like Naminé?"

Axel beamed, the ice in his cup rattling. "She admits it!"

Xion's face turned into a furnace, burning hotter with each remark. "No, I just! Why aren't you mad?"

Roxas knitted his eyebrows. "Uh...because she's my _cousin_? It's not like _I_ like her. You can like who you like."

Xion snorted. "Yeah, I'd _hope_ you don't like her that way."

Roxas shrugged. "Our school is full of hicks, I'd bet at least one of them was dating their cousin."

"There're still hicks at Hartford?" Axel marveled.

Xion nodded. "Contrary to your belief, not much has actually changed since you graduated."

"Apparently so," Axel agreed, referencing Xion's pain, much to her chagrin.

Xion's gaze fixed to the counter, she murmured, "Why can't things just change?"

Axel clapped a hand on Xion's back. "They will, kid. Let's go to Moogle's after this, okay?"

Roxas snorted. "Aren't you supposed to tell us not to eat so much junk food?"

"Who do you think I am, your dad?" Axel retorted. "I might've graduated, but I ain't _that_ old."

 _Bet Roxas would call you daddy,_ Xion thought smugly. "How's Saïx?"

"He's doing good," Axel answered, his head somewhere else.

Her curiosity and knack for causing trouble started to boil as she continued. "Why don't you invite him to hang out with us?"

Roxas took this as an opportune time to start choking. What it was with her her friends for choking around their crushes? Axel clapped his hand on Roxas's back, dislodging whatever had gotten in there.

"I'm good," he muttered, his choking fit ceasing.

Axel shrugged, returning to the subject. "I don't know, just figured you guys wanted to hang out with just me."

Xion managed a devilish giggle. "That's a little selfish, don't you think?"

Axel raised an eyebrow, taking her words as a challenge. "You wanna go see Saïx? Alright, let's go see Saïx."

His long twiggy legs dashing him out of the McDonald's, Axel ripped open the door to his cheap old car and hopped into the driver's seat. Xion slid into the backseat, while Roxas almost collided into shotgun.

The tires screeched as Axel pulled out of the parking lot, tearing down the street to Saïx.

Roxas turned the radio up, flipping through Axel's many CDs until he came across Good Charlotte's "The Young and The Hopeless" album.

"Turn it up, Rox!" Xion demanded.

Roxas reached for the volume, when Axel swatted his hand away. "Hey, you're not paying for the speaker system! If this thing blows, I'll hit you with the car. And you can't just skip 'A New Beginning'!"

"It's a prelude, Axel, it can be skipped!" Xion piped up from the backseat.

"Not in this car, it can't," Axel decided.

"Just keep your eyes on the road," Roxas pleaded.

* * *

One and a half pop punk albums later, the tires screeched again as Axel hairpin-turned into Saïx's college dorm parking lot.

"We're here."

Something stirred in Xion's stomach, something like the idea that they shouldn't be here.

Another student let them into the building, and Axel strutted up to the hall director's desk, briefly flashing a guest pass in front of the woman's eyes. He flicked his fingers between Xion and Roxas, stating, "They're with me."

He took a step toward the residence halls when the woman stopped him. "I recognize you, you're the one who stayed past the curfew hours without being registered."

A normal-looking person could've dismissed her suspicion as "You've got the wrong guy", but with Axel's signature punk look, wild mane of red hair, and unsettling purple gang tattoos, he simply laughed nervously.

"We got a problem?" The lack of confidence made him sound like a completely different person.

"I'm going to have to write you up," the woman stated, peering over her glasses at Axel's thin frame. "If you break the rules one more time, you won't be allowed back."

"But I thought that rule only applied to minors!" Axel said indignantly.

The woman produced a sheet of paper with the dorm rules printed in a tiny font and slid it under Axel's nose. "The rule says minors are not allowed past ten pm if unregistered, and other visitors are not allowed past the one am curfew, nor are they allowed to spend the night in the dorms if they are an unregistered guest."

Axel swallowed nervously. "Alright, thank you, ma'am."

The woman cleared them for visitation, while Axel's confident strut turned into a weasel's slink.

"What's wrong?" Roxas asked.

"You heard the lady, I gotta watch myself if I wanna see Saïx on campus again," Axel mumbled.

"Did you…?" Xion smirked.

Axel tossed his head around. "Yeah, we...we fooled around last time I was here. I ended up spending the night...twice…I just gotta be careful, okay? Keep an eye on the time for me, I don't wanna get you two in trouble."

Two flights of stairs and half the hallway led the three to room 207. Axel knocked, bouncing on the balls of his feet. The door unlocked, and a weary-looking Saïx opened the door.

"Axel?" He didn't sound...ecstatic. His eyes drifted to Roxas and Xion, who beamed at him like trick or treaters expecting a good haul.

He let them inside, closing the door behind Axel. "What are you guys doing here?"

Axel plopped down on Saïx's bed, stretching his legs out in the minimal space he had. "These two wanted to see you, wanted to know why you didn't hang out with us."

Saïx couldn't help but laugh. "Didn't you see where Axel brought you? I'm a little busy, if you couldn't tell. Not all of us are as free to just...mess around."

Axel sat up, danger flashing in his eyes. "Whoa, are you talking about _me_?"

Saïx licked his lips, crossed his arms, and chose his words carefully. "I'm just saying... _some_ of us ended up at college and are trying to focus on their studies…"

While she had briefly known Saïx in high school, Xion found it hard to believe such polar opposites as Axel and Saïx had ended up as a couple. Some traces of a rebellious background remained on Saïx, with his long, blue hair pulled back into a ponytail that reached between his shoulder blades, his pierced ears, and that mystery scar that crossed between his eyes, but other than his appearance, Saïx was a pretty clean-cut and studious guy, nothing like Axel's devil-may-care attitude.

"You knew how hard school was for me, I had to give myself a little break," Axel countered, rising to his feet.

Roxas tapped Xion's hand, the signal for her to check her cell. He had sent her a brief text:

 **XION: I got a feeling we won't b here for 2 long**

Saïx muttered under his breath. "Maybe if you had _tried harder_ …"

"Saïx, not everyone is a straight-A, stick-up-his-ass!" Axel's voice suddenly rose, and Xion shuddered. How many fights like this had she witnessed, her own parents in place of her two friends? A man's raised voice gave her an instant stomach ache.

"Might I mention that it was what _you_ stuck up my ass that got _you_ in trouble last time you were here?" Saïx mentioned, his voice rising to meet Axel's volume.

Roxas blushed, eyes flicking to the floor.

Axel's face flushed angrily. "Not in front of the kids, Saïx…"

"We're not kids!" Xion and Roxas shouted in unison. For someone who was only twenty, he sure did act like a dad. At least, better than Xion's real dad.

Saïx flashed a dangerous glance at them, and they bit their lips in silence. He sighed, rubbing the x-shaped scar. "Axel...I appreciate the visit, but I think you'd better go. My roommate won't be too thrilled to see how many people are here."

The redhead snorted, recalling Saïx's roommate. "I highly doubt Terra will care, he'd probably applaud you for finally having some company…"

Saïx steeled his eyes, and Axel's attitude drooped.

HIs voice dropped to a murmur, and he stepped closer to Saïx for him to hear. "I...I miss you, Saïx. If I get banned from this place, then it's just...it'll suck."

Saïx crossed his arms, a mischievous smirk on his lips. "Then...try not to get banned, okay?"

He leaned in, kissing Axel briefly. "Next time I don't have so much homework, I'll come over. Your place, right?"

Axel murmured an affirmation, stealing another kiss from Saïx. His hand slipped into Saïx's hair, and the extra wheels decided to take this as an opportune time to wait in the hallway.

They shut the door behind them, and immediately afterward, a thump against it signified that they might be here for a while. Backs to the wall, they slid down to sit on the floor.

As the noises inside the dorm grew louder and more suggestive, Roxas broke through the silence between the other two. "So...what did you talk to Naminé about?"

Xion shrugged dismissively. "Nothing special."

She flipped open her phone, finding a new text from the aforementioned recipient. Smiling at the screen, she texted a greeting in return.

"Is that her?" Roxas leaned over to see her screen, and Xion scooted away.

"Mind your own business!" Xion demanded.

 **NAMINE: What's up**

 **XION: U wouldn't believe me if I told u**

 **NAMINE: Try me ;)**

 **XION: I'm waiting for my friend to stop having sex with his boyfriend so we can leave**

 **NAMINE: :O Roxas has a boyfriend?**

Xion couldn't help but snicker at Naminé's far-from-accurate guess.

 **XION: No it's not Roxas but he needs 1**

"Hey, are you talking about me?" Roxas attempted another glimpse of her screen, but Xion tilted the phone away.

Inside the dorm, the volume increased. The two of them popped their earbuds in, turning the volume all the way up.

Exactly twenty minutes later, the door swung open, missing Roxas by a hair as he started awake and scuttled away from the door.

Axel, his hair messier than usual and his clothes haphazardly hanging off his body, let out a puff of air. "Alright kids, time to go home."

"We're not kids," Roxas repeated, "and you almost hit me with the door!"

"You smell bad," Xion noticed, pinching her nose, "like, worse than normal…"

Axel gawked, insulted. "'Worse than normal'? What exactly do you mean?"

"You smell like jizz," Roxas muttered.

"And sweat," Xion added.

The redhead gasped, feigning horror. "How do you two know what jizz smells like?"

Roxas narrowed his eyes, but Xion really didn't know what that particular substance smelled like.

Axel chuckled. "You two need to get home. You probably got shitloads of homework to do, don'tcha?"

The three of them piled back into Axel's car. Her mischievous side popping up again, Xion had the nerve to ask. "Did you at least use a condom?"

Axel's ears reddened. "...Yes...but I gotta stop by the drugstore real quick before I drop you guys off..."

He slammed on the gas pedal, the tires screeching into the setting sun.


	4. Fingerprints

A list of places Kairi couldn't go to with Olette:

\- The mall

\- The movies

\- Starbucks (or any restaurant for that matter)

\- Really...anywhere public

The fear of running into one of the cheerleaders or Pom girls had become too great, only increasing with each week they spent together.

The only place they could really go was each other's house, often Olette to Kairi's since Kairi's car was more easily recognizable with a cheer squad bumper sticker on the fender.

Of course, a rendezvous at one's house often led to...things. Not that either of them minded, they had been dating for almost a year now.

A year...it would be a year come January.

But it wasn't just the cheer squad-Pom girl rivalry that caused fear inside her: her own parents were the root of this overgrown weed.

Around the first six months of their relationship, Kairi tested the waters of coming out to her parents. The waters, she found, were cold, but held the slight promise of warming up.

But her mother's words echoed in her head, crashing over her like the same wave: "Don't show affection in public; people will beat you up and rape you to make you straight."

Kairi always retorted silently, _Yeah, right_.

Still, the uncertainty with how someone could react always lurked in the back of her mind, in the pit of her gut when they were so close to the public eye.

Olette had to be her secret for almost two years. She deserved so much better…

* * *

The adrenaline of the first football game of the season had Kairi as energized as a double espresso from Starbucks would've had her.

She bounced readily on her feet, stretching and double-stretching to assure no muscles would be pulled during their routine.

"Alright girls, we gotta bring the excitement!" She announced, clapping her hands. "I trust no one will be dropped...this time…"

The freshmen on the team, Selphie and Rikku, glanced at each other nervously.

Kairi rubbed her temples. "I'll just...put you two on singular backflips or something for the homecoming game…"

The football team lined up for the running of the bulls, with the cheer squad and pom team at the back of the line to protect their fragility.

The cheer squad gave the pom girls snide one-over glances, and the pom girls stuck up their noses. Olette's side-eye met Kairi's. Kairi's heart did a backflip.

A whistle blew, and the stampede of burly boys in football padding and helmets charged forward. The national anthem played through the speakers, the football players swaying with their brethren, a few sobbing under their helmets. Kairi's hand to her heart felt the steady but quick-paced beat, and she knew it wasn't because she had a love for her country: Olette's eyes had found their target locked on like a deer in the headlights.

The anthem faded, and the cheer squad jogged to the front of the bleachers, cheering and firing up the crowd. At kickoff, the crowd went wild for their team, parents for their football stars, girls for their boyfriends.

The band pumped out some slightly off-tempo version of the fight song as their director attempted to pick up the pace and the players struggled behind.

She could pick out one of her best friends in the row of trumpets, mainly due to his signature spiky hair poking out of his stupid plumed hat.

What a pioneer Sora had been on the first day, paving the way for the school's closeted gays and lesbians, kissing Riku in front of practically the entire student body. And Riku, she honestly couldn't believe it was Sora who finally broke.

As a best friend to both of them since elementary school, she kept their darkest secrets, and they kept hers. During their freshman year, Kairi had agreed to be Riku's beard, plus his status as a running back would give her some serious cheer squad cred. The masquerade had gone on until - she guessed the first day of senior year.

That fateful phone call still made her laugh due to Sora's cluelessness:

"Kairi...I think...I like Riku…"

Cue a snort from Kairi, followed by a clearing of her throat. "Really?"

A shy response, "Yeah…you think he likes me back?"

Another snort, this time the noise followed by hysterical laughter.

"Don't laugh, I'm being serious!" Sora cried indignantly.

She wiped a genuine tear from her eye. "Sora, I'm pretty sure Riku has had a crush on you since we met in elementary school."

Sora seemed to melt on the phone. "Really?"

"Uh, yeah. Why don't you call him and tell him?" She had suggested.

He shrieked, "I can't! Not call him, I have to tell him in person!"  
As it turned out, the live confession didn't happen until three weeks later, after Sora tossed and turned and kept his feelings quiet every time Riku merely glanced at him. Kairi was sure Sora would combust before he could speak the truth. Riku hadn't been too different, though; he had nearly exploded every time Sora even mentioned his name aloud. Of course, everything worked out in the end.

* * *

 **October 2008**

She had been staring, she admitted that. Olette stood just around the corner of the cheer squad's lockers, changing out of her sweaty gym clothes.

She hadn't meant to stare, she'd never stared at another girl like that; but there was something about the olive color of Olette's smooth skin, the way her chocolate curls bounced free from the fabric of her shirt, the curve of her hips…

"What are you staring at?" She snapped, and Kairi's head turned so quickly she feared she'd get whiplash.

"N-nothing, you…" she couldn't find a casual insult to toss in, as her cheeks flushed.

Olette cocked her head. "What, are you some kind of dyke?"

Kairi whipped her head back. "What are you gonna do if I am? Does it scare you, bitch?"

Olette crossed her arms, smirking. "That's not very nice for a flirting attempt…"

Kairi had to scoff. " _You're_ gonna lecture _me_ on nice? And who said I'm flirting?"

Olette slipped her extra shirt on and answered, "Do you even really know what you're fighting for?"

"Well, yeah," her words still held reluctance, "one of the Pom girls slept with a cheerleader's boyfriend, right?"

"Not the story I heard," Olette said, advancing on Kairi, "I heard that a cheerleader keyed a Pom girl's car…"

She scooted on the bench, swallowing nervously. Her heart pounded in her chest, Olette's vivid green eyes watching her curiously.

"Wh-what's your point?" She wondered.

Olette shrugged, slipping into her spare shirt. "I'm just saying...why don't you own up to your feelings?"

Kairi couldn't help her hysterical laugh. "What feelings? You think I have feelings for you?"

"I'm saying, why follow some stupid tradition if you don't know what you're actually fighting for?" Olette said, slipping into her shirt.

She turned away, when Kairi rose to her feet and shouted indignantly, "If you're so high and mighty, why do _you_ still follow it, too?"

Olette changed the subject like a light switch. "Do you wanna hang out?"

The cheerleader sputtered over her words, trying to process what the Pom girl had asked. "Wh-what? Why would I ever -?"

"Do. You want. To hang. Out?" Olette repeated, glancing over her shoulder.

Kairi turned her head, rubbing her arm nervously. "This is some kind of setup, isn't it? You're gonna embarrass me in front of the whole Pom team, aren't you?"

Olette's curls bounced as she shook her head. "No setup. Just you and me, away from the cheer squad and the Pom team. My house, Saturday night. Take it or leave it, Red."

The brunette exited, the heavy door slamming behind her. Stupefied, Kairi couldn't distinguish anger from shock. She smashed her fist into the locker, the sound (and pain) echoing.

She shook the pain from her hand, hissing under her breath. "Stupid...fucking...Pom girl…"

The encounter obviously became a reason to call Sora and Riku for a rendezvous at her house.

"She _what_?" They both gawked, eyes wide as the moon.

Kairi reiterated how Olette had basically asked her out in the locker room.

"You were staring at her?" Riku teased.

"I wasn't staring, I just...didn't have anything else to look at." Kairi responded indignantly. "I'm not gonna go, I still think it's some kind of setup."

"Look, if Olette said that thing about knowing what you fight for, then why would she 'extend the olive branch', so to speak?" Sora mentioned. "It sounds like she honestly hates the feud."

Riku crossed his toned arms. "I don't get why this didn't end earlier. I also don't get how you got sucked into this."

Kairi shrugged. "I dunno, I was a freshman - young, impressionable - they told me they hated the Pom team and I figured that was just that."

"You should end the feud," Sora suggested, "make the school a better place and all that junk."

"They wouldn't listen to me," she muttered.

"Why not? You're gonna be cheer captain next year, aren't you?" Riku pointed out.

"Yeah, I think so…" Kairi didn't have much reason not to think so. "But they still don't listen to me. The cheer squad is like a hivemind, okay? They all think the same, and if one girl speaks out about something they collectively disagree on, they attack her."

"Girls are scary," Riku noted, slipping his hand into Sora's.

"Yeah, especially Kairi," Sora laughed.

"Hey!" Kairi swatted at Sora's hair, and Sora ducked.

"You know how much I put into that!" He cried, dodging her hand.

"Don't worry Kai, we're gonna help you get laid by that girl one way or another," Sora promised.

"I am _not_ a lesbian!" Kairi shouted.

"Not yet," Sora snickered.

Riku added, "You _were_ staring at her."

Kairi clenched her teeth. "For the last time, I was _not_ staring at her!"  
Riku leaned over to Sora, whispering loudly, "She was totally staring at her."

* * *

With reluctance, Kairi accepted the invitation. She arrived at Olette's neighborhood - pretty much exactly like hers, suburban and teeming with the upper middle class kids of Hartford High - parking a few blocks back for good measure. She armed herself with her keys between her fingers, just in case she was jumped by any stray Pom girls.

She knocked on Olette's door, and she was greeted immediately by the sound of a lapdog yapping.

The locks clicked open, and Olette appeared in the doorway, struggling to hold her Yorkshire terrier back by the collar. "Come on in."

Kairi stepped inside, avoiding the snapping terrier.

"Sorry, Cinnamon doesn't bite," Olette promised, directing the dog into another room and letting it run away.

She popped upright, curls swishing as she faced Kairi. "So, welcome. Still think this is a setup?"

"I don't know...is it?" Kairi asked warily.

"Nope," Olette replied. "Just thought I'd invite you over for - well, sometimes the Pom girls get on my nerves. It's like...they're the only people I'm supposed to be friends with because we can't be seen with anyone associated with the cheer squad."

Kairi's instinctual solidarity burst forward, "Oh my God, me too! Like, I don't mind hanging out with the cheer squad, but do we have to do everything together? And everyone's so suspicious when someone cancels coming to group plans."

"Right? I just want to have some other friends, like that's some sort of crime." Olette led her upstairs, presumably to her room so they could chat in private.

"But...it is a crime with me," Kairi pointed out.

Olette stopped with two stairs left. "But...is it? Why does it have to be?"

She whipped around, meeting eyes with Kairi. "Why do we follow in the footsteps of past Pom girls and cheerleaders? Who told us we had to?"

"Well...I figured it was just a joke in my freshman year…" Kairi mumbled.

"But we found out it had deeper roots, and we still didn't have the courage to stand up against the others, to say 'this is stupid'. Why don't we still have the courage?" Olette wondered, her intense green eyes burrowing into Kairi's soul.

"I...I don't know," Kairi mumbled, stumbling backward. She gripped the rail to steady herself, but she lost her balance and her stomach sank as she realized she was going to fall downstairs.

As her world entered a state of cinematic slow motion, Olette reached out and grabbed Kairi's wrist, helping her regain balance.

"Thanks…" she said reluctantly. Her decision to come was getting uncomfortable. "Look...I didn't come here to be lectured on why I should end this feud…"

"I didn't say you had to end it," Olette said. "Maybe me inviting you here was the start of the end. I mean, of course it's a double-sided blade, and the Pom girls can only extend so much until you have to step up."

Kairi sputtered. "So...I'm part of your grand scheme to end the feud? I knew I shouldn't have -"

"Shouldn't have what?" Olette interrupted. "You know, you can leave if you want. I didn't mean to start this, I just wanted to hang out with someone other than the Pom girls for a chance. The truth is...they don't really like me. I can tell. They act nice around me, but they don't actually care about me."

The sudden sincerity shocked Kairi. Was this part of the elaborate act? But...Olette's eyes wouldn't meet her.

Shifting her feet, Kairi hesitantly agreed to stay.

"Thanks," Olette offered her a genuine smile, and Kairi's heart fluttered.

Olette finished her ascent with Kairi following behind, and Olette led her down the hallway. At the end stood two doors: one decorated with flower stickers and a novelty sign that read "No boys allowed". From the other door, loud rap music rattled from behind the hinges. Pasted across the door were lines of "Caution" tape, and another sign that read "The Mancave".

Kairi moved her lips to ask who resided behind that door, when Olette finished her thought, "My brother, Terra."

She opened her bedroom door, inviting Kairi into the sanctuary. The bright orange, flowery wallpaper gave the room a warm feeling, contrasting from the beige carpeting that had covered the upstairs level floor. The bed in the middle was made immaculately, with almost no wrinkles or curled edges in sight (an extreme contrast from Kairi's haphazard blanket nest). Next to the rose a nightstand with an CD-player alarm clock resting on top. A light wooden dresser stood on the opposite side of the window next to a walk-in closet with white doors. A mirror and a box of makeup spilled its contents on top of the dresser. Pushed against the wall next adjacent to the dresser was Olette's desk, where her books and homework were neatly piled.

"So...you wanna listen to some music?" Olette offered, drifting over to the CD player. She rifled through her desk drawers to find a CD book, flipping through. "What do you like?"

Kairi shrugged. "I like Taylor Swift and Katy Perry?"

Olette wrinkled her nose. "Katy Perry I can jam to, but Taylor Swift? She's a little...honky-tonk for me…"

"To each their own," Kairi decided, playfully tilting her head.

Olette slipped a CD into the player, the machine whirring as it tasted the CD inside. "One of the Boys" wafted through the speakers, and Kairi found herself a spot on the floor.

"What do you wanna do? Paint our nails or something?" Olette asked, rummaging through her makeup box. She extracted five different nail polish colors: hot pink, clear (for French manicures), iridescent purple, teal blue, and creamsicle orange.

"Sure," her guest agreed, and Olette gathered the rest of the supplies, settling on the floor across from Kairi.

"What color?" She spread the colors out in front of Kairi, of which Kairi chose hot pink.

Olette untwisted the brush from the bottle, and Kairi held her hands out. The brush tickled her nails as Olette carefully painted each finger.

The song switched to "I Kissed a Girl", and Kairi almost jerked from the irony.

 _I am_ not _a lesbian!_

 _Not yet._

"Something wrong?" Olette's voice cut through her daze, and Kairi dismissed the issue.

She watched intently as Olette coated each nail, her delicate hands steady and warm holding Kairi's hand still.

Her eyes drifted over Olette's features: her slim nose, pouty lips, emerald-green eyes hidden under thick lashes…

She was beautiful - for a Pom girl.

The words Olette had spoken to her on the stairs echoed in the back of her mind, and she restudied Olette's features. No, Olette wasn't beautiful "for a Pom girl"; she was beautiful.

"Done."

Olette held Kairi's hands up to her lips, and she blew air over them to dry the paint. To her surprise, Olette suddenly brought Kairi's fingertips to her lips, kissing them sweetly.

"What the fuck?" Kairi shrieked, recoiling her hands.

"Oh...sorry, force of habit," the brunette replied, "my mom used to kiss my fingers after she painted my nails, and I used to do the same…my mom died two years ago..."

"Oh…" Kairi's stomach sank again, sorry that she had assumed. "I'm sorry…"

Olette dismissed her apology. "Terra and I go by her maiden name - Gainsborough - even though she and Dad have been married forever. He didn't mind us changing the family name after she died."

The two sat there in silence, the CD player still singing mindlessly.

"I'm sorry I assumed this was a trick," Kairi admitted.

Nodding, Olette agreed, "Even though I'm surrounded by the Pom girls, none of them are really my friends. They don't like me because they think I'm a lesbian."

Kairi swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. "Are you?"

Those green eyes didn't meet hers. "Promise you won't leave if I tell you the answer?"

 _Well you kinda did by saying that,_ Kairi thought. "I promise."

"Yeah, I'm a lesbian." The brunette answered. "The other Pom girls think I'm gonna, I don't know, hit on them or something…it's like I can't just have normal friends without them thinking I'm gonna hit on them, or asking for favors like kissing them for an experiment…"

"Have you kissed a lot of girls?" The redhead answered, realizing that seemed invasive, and apologizing promptly after.

"Yeah," Olette shrugged, "I've kissed a few, more than I've wanted to…"

"Is your family okay with it?" Kairi wondered.

The brunette shrugged again. "Yeah, I guess. My dad has been kinda disconnected since Mom died, and Terra's just kind of...Terra. My mom knew, and she was okay with it - didn't completely understand - but she was mostly okay with it."

Olette perked again, dissipating the awkward air. She held out her hands for Kairi to paint her nails in creamsicle orange. "What about you? Do you have a boyfriend?"

Kairi wanted to answer no, but she might as well keep up her charade with Riku. "Yeah, I'm dating Riku."

"The guy on the football team?" Olette recalled. "Silver hair? Running back, right?"

"Yeah, him," Kairi replied, concentrating on painting in between the almond shapes of Olette's nails.

Olette's curls bobbed as she nodded in agreement. "Nice."

"Yeah," Kairi said halfheartedly. She shifted uncomfortably on the floor. "H-how do you know? If you like girls?"

Olette tossed her head, careful not to ruin her nails. "Well, I've obviously kissed a few and had the same feeling any other girl would get with a boy. You know, butterflies in the stomach and all that."

"Mm." Kairi finished Olette's left hand, moving on to the right.

She finished painting her nails in the ambience. After screwing the cap back onto the bottle, she lifted Olette's hands to her lips and blew air on them. Almost involuntarily, she kissed Olette's fingertips.

She had done it wrong, and briefly tasted the sting of the nail polish in her mouth.

"Pleh…" She spat trying to get the poison off her tongue.

"Oh my God," Olette stood abruptly, realizing what had happened. She grabbed Kairi's arm, leading her to the bathroom.

While Kairi washed nail polish off her tongue, Olette studied her faintly-smudged nail job from behind the bathroom door.

Kairi dried her hands, careful not to smudge her own nails, and gently touched one finger to her lips, mimicking how it had felt kissing Olette's fingers.


	5. What the Hell

Roxas ripped the paper from Xion's hands; she pulled away to avoid a quick papercut just as the paper left her fingers.

"Careful!" She shrieked, examining her hands.

"I didn't do the homework," Roxas admitted, scanning Xion's math homework.

Xion crossed her arms. "You're lucky that I did it at all, you know how much I hate math."

Sighing dreamily, Roxas lamented, "Axel used to be good at math."

"Do you even remember Axel outside of your fantasy of him?" Xion ridiculed, "He hates school. He was lucky he passed algebra. Saïx was good at math, he was always doing Axel's homework for him."

"I need a boyfriend to do my math homework for me," the blond boy murmured. "So how're you and Naminé?"  
Xion snorted through her nose and picked through her hair. "You act like there's something between us; I met her last week."

"Hey, I don't know how fast you are," Roxas admitted.

"Not very," Xion answered.

Approaching her locker, she mindlessly twisted the lock, clicking it open. The hope of seeing the blonde girl again flickered like a live flame in the pit of her stomach. While Vanitas had caused her so much torment, she couldn't dismiss the idea that she could hold a torch for Naminé.

"Hey Naminé," Roxas mumbled, alerting the other of her presence.

"Morning guys," the angelic girl replied, her smile radiant like the sun.

Xion's throat closed, as if she had suddenly ingested an allergen. She could barely choke out a greeting.

"Hey Roxas, I got transferred into gym for my last hour, but I don't know where the locker room is," Naminé explained.

A cheshire grin appeared on Roxas's face, and he boldly offered Xion up like a sacrificial cow to the Greek gods. "I'm sure Xion will walk you there; besides, I'm a guy, so I shouldn't really go near it."

"It's not like you're gonna stare," Xion muttered, her face flushed. "But yeah, I can show you."

Naminé smiled, thanking Xion for volunteering before leaving for class.

Xion's arm extended, whacking Roxas in the back of the head. "What was that for?"

Roxas rubbed his new injury, groaning. "I just thought I'd help you out with your crush."

"I never said I had a crush on her!" Xion replied firmly.

Roxas rolled his eyes. "You are the most obvious person with crushes, and it is _extremely_ obvious that you have a crush."

Xion tossed her head, striding angrily past Roxas to make her way to class.

* * *

The last hour of the day happened to be the least convenient time for Xion to find Naminé; the gym just so happened to be on the completely opposite side of the school from where Xion's last hour was.

And of course, Xion just _had_ to wear her two-inch creepers that day. In her heart, she knew Naminé was completely worth a sprained or broken ankle.  
She found Naminé by her locker, and she was surprised Naminé remembered which one it was.

"Hey, thanks for walking me to class," Naminé said upon Xion's arrival.

Panting, Xion dismissed the action as "no problem."

The two strode to the women's locker rooms in near silence. Xion's heart pounded, both from exhaustion and from nerves. What would she even say to Naminé that she hadn't already texted about?

"So...how are your classes?" Naminé's voice cut through the silence.

Xion barely registered the sound of her voice until approximately too late. "G-good, they're good. What about you? Is is really different from your old school?"

Naminé shrugged, admitting that they were a bit more challenging, but that she could handle it.

"Here it is." Xion motioned to the door that read "Women's Locker Rooms".

Naminé froze, her eyes suddenly moving from the sign to the floor. Her knuckles turned white on the strap of her backpack.

"Is...is something wrong?" Xion wondered.

Naminé bit her lip. "This might sound kinda weird, but...could you come in there with me? Just this once. I just...have really bad anxiety about changing clothes in front of people…"

Xion's throat dried up like a desert. "S-sure…"

She opened the door for her, and Naminé reluctantly crossed the threshold. The blonde wandered aimlessly toward the out-of-commission shower stalls, dropping her bag by them. "I'll just change in here…you can leave if you want now. Thanks…"

"Are you sure?" Xion asked.

Naminé nodded, her gaze not meeting Xion. "Yeah...thank you."

"Yeah…" Xion assured, and she turned to take her leave.

She silently affirmed that she would not share this moment with Roxas.

* * *

 _Where is it? Shit...shit! It's not there! Fuck!_

The panic that ensued Xion after her trip to the locker room concentrated on a single lost aluminum pin. Had it not been her favorite pin - a My Chemical Romance pin, black with the band's name scrawled over it in red - she wouldn't have minded for more than a week. It was more than her favorite band; it was one of Axel's last mementos given to her on the last day of school.

The bell rang, and the students in her geometry class bolted for the door, pushing and shoving to escape. Normally she waited for the traffic to pass, but she feared the legions of students walking down the halls might interfere. Who's to say someone's foot wouldn't collide with the pin…?

She couldn't bear the thought; she rushed past the horde of students, some yelling and cursing at her as she dashed by. Her eyes scanned the floor frantically, her vision obscured by sneakers and kitten heels.

Maybe she had dropped it in the locker room?

Miraculously, she made it to the lockers before the wave of students had tramped through it.

She scanned the floors again, finding nothing. There was nothing by the door, so she slipped inside the locker room.

The last hour gym class traffic had cleared, leaving the locker rooms almost empty - _almost_ : hidden behind a row of lockers, the head cheerleader had the pom captain pinned to the wall. The pom captain's eyes were closed, thankfully long enough for Xion to dash in the shower stall.  
"Someone's here." Olette hissed.

Kairi removed herself immediately.

Olette paused, wanting to confirm the noise, although the silence said otherwise. She dismissed the noise. "I gotta get to practice soon."

"Just a little longer?" Kairi mumbled.  
Olette chuckled dryly. She mouthed, "I love you, baby."

"Love you too…" Kairi mouthed back.

Footsteps passed and the door creaked shut as Olette left. Xion heard Kairi sigh loudly, and decided to present herself.

Her voice dripped with sweet venom as she alerted the redhead of her presence. "The head cheerleader and the pom captain, huh?"

Kairi sputtered, aghast. Her face flushed a color close to her hair. "Y-you! H-how...why?"

"If you wanna know why I was here, I'm looking for an aluminum pin," Xion responded. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop on this little bit of interesting information…"

"You can't tell anyone!" Kairi said.

Xion tilted her head mischievously. "Oh, of course not. But it is very interesting, don't you think? I'm the only one who knows now…"

Kairi chewed her lip nervously. "You can't tell anyone: no one in this school, no one outside of school, absolutely _nobody_. And you're not the only one: Sora and Riku know, too."

"Oh!" The realization came as soon as Kairi had dropped their names. "So this goes beyond just cheating on your boyfriend, this has been going on for a while, hasn't it? Because then, Riku isn't really your boyfriend..."

Kairi gritted her teeth and clenched her fist. "What do you want, emo?"

Xion cracked a vile grin. "I think it's time the goths, emos, and other unpopular kids had some social reign, don't you?"

"You're gonna blackmail me?" Kairi shrieked, the disbelief bubbling like hot lava.

"Nah, I don't have anything to gain from blackmail. But...I could get you the homecoming and prom queen votes from the goth and emo kids if you wanted…"

"I don't need their votes," Kairi spat, although Olette _was_ friends with the theater kids, and their votes could mean sink or swim for Kairi.

Kairi growled in frustration. "Fine, what do you want me to do?"

Xion pursed her lips. "Think you could do a cheer routine to _real_ music? We're getting sick of that preppy garbage."

Kairi seethed, weighing her options. "Look, it's not that I _wouldn't_ ; it's just, these girls have a tough time keeping time, and if the song's got a tough beat, then they're gonna end up on their asses, or _worse_. Can we settle for something in-between?"

Xion eyed her dangerously. "Like what…?"

Tossing her head, Kairi mentally flipped through her musical catalog. "Avril Lavigne?"

Xion squinted. "Which song?"

Kairi sighed, holding her hands in surrender. "We usually do stunts to mash-ups but, if, _if,_ I can get it to pass through administration, would 'What the Hell' work? It might just be like, a few bars or whatever."

Xion smirked. "I think 'What the Hell' works perfectly."

She held out her hand for Kairi to shake.

"Don't think that this is gonna be a regular thing," Kairi warned. "This is just so you can keep my secret."

Xion shrugged, accepting her overall victory. "I didn't say it was gonna be."

Hands gripped tight, they shook on it.

"By the way," Kairi reached into her pocket, pulling out a shiny object. "Is _this_ what you're looking for?"

Xion snatched up the pin, shoving it in her own pocket. "Thanks…"

"What did you say your name is?" Kairi asked, out of curiosity rather than courtesy.

"Xion," the emo girl answered. "Like the Japanese word for Forget-me-nots."

Kairi snorted. "I don't think I could forget you even if I tried."


	6. It's Gonna Be Me

The week before homecoming sent the school ablaze with shenanigans.

Each day of Spirit Week sent the four grades into a frenzy of trying to rack up the most "spirit points" before the pep rally on Friday, but everyone knew that the system was rigged and the seniors would win anyway.

Among that, each horny high school couple seemed to get hornier as the students paired off with their new homecoming dates and potential long-term partners.

Roxas and Xion hadn't been to a homecoming dance since they entered high school; it had been a pact they made with Axel upon their first meeting. They allowed senior year to be the one exception to attend the shitty school dances, after Axel went ahead and took Saïx to prom.

After school on the Thursday of homecoming week, Roxas and Xion accompanied each other to the skate park.

"Are you going to ask Naminé to homecoming?" Roxas asked, setting his board on the concrete.

"No, I don't wanna go to homecoming." Xion answered shortly. "Homecoming is for preps."

Roxas crossed his arms. "Well, a little birdie told me that poor preppy Nami has never gone to a school dance…"

Xion narrowed her eyes. "Was this birdie Naminé?"

The blond boy shrugged. "That's confidential. But you should ask her."

"Who are you going to ask?" Xion wondered.

Behind them, two boys carrying their skateboards approached: one slim-bodied with a wild mess of blond hair sticking up like a torch, the other heavier-set with his black hair sticking up like grass.

"What up, _Gay_ ner?" Roxas called out to the other blond, whose real name was Hayner.

"Uh, you're taking up our space... _Snot_ -xas…" Hayner retorted, his attempt at an insult falling flat.

Roxas entered Hayner's space, their faces inches apart. "Well, we got here first, Gayner."

This stance only indicated one event would pursue: gay chicken. Roxas, as the real gay, never quite lost a game. He stared intensely into Hayner's eyes, while Hayner itched to look away. Roxas initiated another step closer, the boys' lips nearly touching. The other boy - Pence - coughed on the sideline. Xion bit her nails in anticipation.

"Hayner, come on; we'll just take the half-pipe." He decided.

"No, I'm gonna win this time!" Hayner announced.

Hayner took a risky step toward Roxas. The tips of their noses were touching. Hayner's face flushed bright red.

"Well, Gayner? Giving up yet? We're almost kissing. I can feel your lips on mine while I speak." Roxas smirked.

"Why don't you two just bang already?" Xion griped.

Hayner slammed his hands against Roxas's chest, sending him stumbling back. "Alright, whatever, homo."

The other blond picked up his board, following Pence.

"Man, you were pretty close that time," Xion observed. "How many times has he 'forfeited'?"

"I don't know, but at least he's gone now." Roxas muttered, his face tinted pink. He picked up his board, stepping onto it and sliding down the side of the bowl.

Xion sat a foot away from the bowl's edge, checking her phone for new messages from Naminé.

 **NAMINE: Hey ;)**

The wink face sent Xion reeling. Had it been a typo, just a mistake? It had to be.

 **XION: Hi /**

 **NAMINE: Y r u blushing?**

 **XION: did u mean 2 wink?**

Xion's fingers trembled as she waited for Naminé's her answer.

 **NAMINE: yes ;3**

Xion nearly threw her phone into the bowl. Roxas popped up the slope, noticing Xion's flustered face.

"What's up? Ooh, are you texting Nami?"

"She sent me a wink face, on purpose!" Xion squealed, her cheeks hot.

"Lemme see!" Roxas reached for her phone, but Xion recoiled.

"Proof or it didn't happen!" Roxas pouted.

Reluctantly, Xion showed Roxas her phone.

"You just got a new message." He pointed.

Xion quickly took her phone back, reading the message.

 **NAMINE: Is it ok? Sorry if it's not**

Xion rapidly texted her reply.

 **XION: No it's ok! I'm just flustered /**

Roxas kicked his board aside, sitting next to Xion on the concrete. "I wanna know what's happening!"

"I'll tell you, just hold on!" Xion snapped.

 **NAMINE: Umm...do u want to go 2 hoco together?**

Xion's face flushed so deeply that she was sure her soul was about to exit her body.

"What?" Roxas demanded.

"She asked me to homecoming!" She shouted.

"Did she really?!" He reached for her phone, but Xion collapsed on top of it, curling into a ball on the concrete.

"That prep," Roxas muttered. "Now I guess I _have_ to go to make sure you two don't get too lovey-dovey…"

She tilted her phone screen up, sending her reply.

 **XION: Yeah /**

 **NAMINE: U can come 2 my house 6**

 **Xion: ok**

She lifted her head, craning her neck toward Roxas. "You should ask Hayner to homecoming."

"What? No way." Roxas rolled his eyes.

Xion uprighted herself, overcoming her shock. "Why not? From the way he's always acting during gay chicken, he seems like he'd like it."

"I don't have any formal clothes." Roxas sighed.

"Maybe Axel will take us shopping. I don't wanna wear one of Yuffie's old preppy dresses, but I might have to if I don't have the money for a new dress." Xion said. "Hayner's coming over here! Ask him!"

"Not in a million years," Roxas retorted.

"What about a million years? Is that how long you wanna spend time with me?" Hayner spat.

"Maybe! Who asked, Gayner?" Roxas cocked his head back before sliding down the bowl.

Xion dropped her voice to a whisper. "You should ask Roxas to homecoming."

"I should?" Hayner sputtered. "I-I mean, why would I wanna ask a cute guy like Roxas out?"

Xion could almost hear a record scratch.

"What?" Pence interjected.

"Fuck!" Hayner shouted.

There was a thud sound, signaling Roxas had fallen off his skateboard. Said skateboard climbed halfway up the side of the bowl before sliding back down to the middle.

Xion shot to her feet. "Roxas! Are you okay?"

He peeled himself off the concrete, giving her a thumbs-up.

Hayner mounted his board, rolling down to where Roxas was struggling to get back on his board.

"Get out of here!" Roxas demanded.

"But Xion said I should ask you to homecoming!" Hayner said.

Xion scooped up her belongings before she could hear the sound of Roxas's skateboard rolling furiously up the side of the bowl.

"XIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!"

* * *

"Hey Yuffie, I think I'm gonna go to homecoming." Xion said over the clink of silverware on ceramic dishware.

"You? Homecoming?" Yuffie looked up, surprised. "That's not something I thought I'd hear."

"You were the one who told me I should live it up my senior year!" Xion said.

Yuffie pursed her lips. "I did say that, didn't I? Well, I was right. Do you wanna go dress shopping?"

"Homecoming is literally on Saturday." Xion reminded her.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" Yuffie demanded.

Xion threw her fork down. "I didn't know I was going until now!"

"We can go shopping tomorrow after school, but there might not be any good dresses left." Yuffie decided. "Who's your date?"

Xion's ears turned pink, but she quickly covered them with her hair. "Wh-what makes you think I have a date?"

Yuffie shrugged. "I just figured you weren't going unless you had a date. Who _are_ you going with?"

"Roxas and his cousin, Naminé," Xion answered.

"Roxas is going, too? Does he have a date?" Yuffie wondered.

"I _told_ him he should ask Hayner, but that didn't end well…" Xion softly rubs the bruise where she landed when Roxas pursued her in anger.

"Oh. Okay, just be out on time so we can go to the store." Yuffie said. "Are you going to someone's house?"

"I'm going to Naminé's."

"Where is that?"

 _Crap!_ She forgot to ask Naminé where she lived.

"I forgot to ask!" Xion shouted.

She leapt from the table, running to her room. She snatched her phone off her desk, quickly typing.

 **XION: hey where do u live**

Oh God she hoped that didn't sound creepy.

The text seemed to take forever to arrive.

 **NAMINE: oh I forgot 2 tell u lol**

The next message was Naminé's address. She scrawled it on a sticky note, thanked Naminé, and ran back to the kitchen.

"Here."

Yuffie took the sticky note and nodded. "Oh, okay; I know where that is. I guess I have to take those cheesy pictures of you if Mom can't."

The front door alerted the sisters that their mother had come home from work.

"Hey Mom!" Yuffie shouted from her current position.

"Hi, girls!" Christy Kisaragi called from the front door.

"Hey Mom, Xion's going to homecoming this year!" Yuffie yelled.

Xion scrunched her face at her sister. Her mother answered, "She is? That's great! Who's she going with?"

"I'm going with Roxas and his cousin, Naminé!" Xion replied.

After finally slipping off her shoes, their mother entered the kitchen. "Thanks for making dinner, Yuffie."

"No problem," the older sister said.

"So you're going to homecoming with Roxas and - what was her name?" Ms. Kisaragi asked.

"Naminé." The name sounded almost forbidden to say aloud.

Ms. Kisaragi thought for a moment. "Naminé? That's a pretty name."

Xion nodded meekly. She's a pretty girl…

"Do you have something to wear?" Ms. Kisaragi wondered.

"Yuffie's taking me dress shopping after school," Xion said. Hopefully Hot Topic had some homecoming dresses.

"Oh, okay. Well, I'm going to eat and do the dishes; is your homework done?" Ms. Kisaragi asked.

"Mine is," Yuffie's answer seemed almost pointed at Xion.

Xion's eyes flicked to the side. "Yeah...almost."

She dismissed herself from the conversation to "do her homework". The door closed softly behind her. She checked her phone, nearly dropping it.

 **VANITAS: r u going 2 hoco**

* * *

Selphie whirled out of the dressing room, wearing another gaudy yellow cocktail dress. "What about this one?"

Kairi refrained from rolling her eyes. "It looks fine."  
She realized this is probably how Sora and Riku felt shopping with her. This bench was getting uncomfortable.

"But what about the other one? Which one looks better?" Selphie whined.

"I don't know! They both looked cute!" Kairi resigned.

Her phone buzzed and she checked the message. Her heart fluttered, recognizing the secret code at the top to be Olette's name.

 **OLETTE: got plans 2nite**

 **KAIRI: idk I'm dress shopping w/ Selphie rn**

 **OLETTE: that sux**

 **KAIRI: it really does**

"Who ya texting?" Shiki suddenly threw her arm around Kairi, almost making her drop her phone.

"RIKU!" Kairi accidentally shouted.

Rikku whipped her head in Kairi's direction.

"Not _you_ , Rikku, other Riku," Kairi clarified.

Rikku turned back around, browsing some other dresses.

Shiki removed her arm. "Did you get your dress already?"

"Yeah, I got it last weekend." Kairi replied distractedly, waiting for Olette to text.

 **OLETTE: I miss u :(**

 **KAIRI: god already lol**

 **OLETTE: I always miss u when ur with the cheer squad**

Shiki suddenly snatched Kairi's phone.

"Shiki!" Kairi yelled, bolting to her feet.

"Catch me, Kairi!" Shiki teased, running toward the other end of the store.

"Shiki I swear to God, I'll kick you off the cheer squad!" Kairi growled, nearly hurdling over displays to get her phone.

Shiki waved it in front of Kairi's sight, looking over her shoulder. She suddenly tripped into a rack of designer jeans, the entire contraption collapsing on her.

Fits of laughter echoed Kairi's, and she looked to find some of the Pom girls standing near the jeans. Kairi quickly silenced herself, snatching her phone which Shiki had dropped when she collided with the jeans.

"Idiot," Fuu sneered.

The two other Pom girls with her laughed at Fuu's eloquence.

"Back off, Fuu," Kairi warned.

"Are you challenging us?" Skuld stepped forward.

Shiki removed herself from the damage, brushing herself off. "I don't know, are _you_ challenging _us_?"

 _Literally no one was challenging anyone,_ Kairi thought.

"We're almost done here," Kairi said, "then you'll have the store all to yourself."

"Good," Fuu stated.

Kairi grabbed Shiki's arm, dragging her away. "We could've taken them, Kai!"

"Sorry, but black eyes are hard to cover with makeup," Kairi said.

They returned to the dress area, where Rikku was still browsing dresses and Selphie had a pile of dresses to her knee in the dressing room.

"We've got a code P, guys," Kairi said.

Rikku dropped her jaw. "Shiki peed herself?"

Shiki stared in disbelief. "No...P for Pom whores."

"Oh…" Rikku faltered.

"But I'm not done!" Selphie whined.

"Number three was the cutest, if you remember which one it is," Kairi decided. "Come on, I don't wanna start any trouble."

Selphie snatched the dress at the bottom of the pile, causing the others to fall. "Oops…"

"But we can totally take them, Kai! Don't be such a bitch!" Shiki insisted.

Kairi rubbed her arm. She knew Olette would be disappointed if she got both teams kicked out of their favorite store.

Ultimately, she decided it wasn't worth it, much to the chagrin of her teammates.

Kairi checked her phone again, clumsily typing "code P" with one hand. Then, she strode past the Pom girls with her nose in the air.


End file.
